Castlevania: Finale of the Dark Ballad
by Cosmic Compiler
Summary: 1999 A.D. Dracula has been resurrected at full power and the Third Holy Grail War is waged, young Julius Bemont must fight alongside, his servant Saber, the Son of Dracula Alucard and the executioner Ciel to destroy Dracula once and for all, but can Saber fight the Prince of Darkness knowing who he really is? Sequel to Fate of the Dragon and Prequel to Minuet of a Cursed Fate


Castlevania: Finale of the Dark Ballad

Chapter one: Return of the Belmont Clan

1999 A.D. the year of Nostradamus's King of Terror prophecy, a dark prophecy that predicted Dracula returning once more at full power to terrorize humanity, both the Church and the Mages Association knew about the Dark Lord's imminent return, and were both counting on the current head of the Belmont Clan, the young Julius Belmont, who was prophesised to wield the Vampire Killer Whip to destroy Dracula once and for all, under the tutelage of Jonathan Morris, the Belmont Heir was prepared to live up to his legendary bloodline, but things were far more complicated, due to the Holy Grail's appearance within Dracula's Castle, due to the Vampire King's dark influence, thus beginning the Third Holy Grail War, but the rules were different this time around, the Master and Servant that destroys the immortal count, will have their wish granted by the Grail.

* * *

On a dark night, lit only by the malicious crimson moon, Dracula was slouched in the throne room of his castle, though the Dark Lord was centuries old, his appearance exuded the youthful beauty of someone in their early twenties, the Vampire King's long ivory hair grew until his shoulders and his piercing red eyes showed his dark authority, the sinister monarch was dressed in a regal black coat with a blood red trim, wearing an ominous red stone around his neck, beside him, was his mistress, a deceptively young woman with a petite frame, blue-green eyes and pink hair. Two horns grew out of the bloody maiden's head and a tail from her lower back both complimenting her draconic appearance, Dracula's consort was dressed in a black and white dress with pink accents.

"Elizabeth, the time has finally come." Dracula spoke to his consort; the Dark Lord was pleased with the side effects Nostradamus's prophecy. "The time to make all creation submit to me, with my full powers restored, nobody can stand in my way."

"I've always dreamed of this day, my Lord." Elizabeth sat on Dracula's lap, staring lovingly into her lord's eyes, the bloody maiden was very happy to see the Vampire King's long time wish come true.

"Thank you for standing by me this whole time." Dracula gave Elizabeth a sincere smile, though the Dark Lord was known as a cruel and heartless monster, he still showed signs of his long lost humanity, especially around those he held dear. "Your loyalty will be rewarded…"

"All I've ever needed was your love." Elizabeth blushed as she wrapped her arms around Dracula's neck; the bloody maiden had been madly in love with the Dark Lord for centuries, adding to her fierce loyalty, she was quite literally the Vampire King's dragon.

Dracula returned Elizabeth's affections in the form of a kiss, truly thankful for the love and devotion the bloody maiden was showing, however, the Dark Lord's blackened heart was too twisted by centuries of hatred and sorrow to truly reciprocate the strong feelings of love that his consort felt for him.

Elizabeth blushed during the kiss she shared with Dracula and returned it at full force, the bloody maiden knew that the man she loved was almost devoid of emotions, but she didn't care, as long as she could stay by her beloved lord's side. The pink haired dragon then stood up and gave the Dark Lord a loving smile.

"Excuse me." Dracula stood up from his throne and walked towards the balcony, the Dark Lord reflected on all the events that led to this day and his reasons for his eternal war against God and mankind. "_Altria… Joan… I'm doing all this for you… to avenge your cruel fates._" The Vampire King thought about the two women whose existences had a lasting impact on his life. "_If you could see me now…everything I've become… what would you think?"_ The Prince of Darkness wore a sorrowful look on his pale and menacing face as he recalled the days he spent in the past and the remnants of his lost humanity.

"_**My Lord… the Holy Grail is secure within the heart of the castle.**_" A skeletal figure clad in a mystic dark purple robe armed with a sinister looking scythe with a bone motif, appeared behind the Dracula. "_**For this war, I will act as your servant; I personally made sure that the Grail chose me as a Caster class, your command seals should appear shortly." **_

"Good work, Death." Dracula gave the Grim Reaper a malicious smile, knowing that having a god as his servant for the Holy Grail war guaranteed his victory, suddenly; three red seals that took the form of a cross and two demonic wings burned themselves onto the Dark Lord's right hand. "Come, other masters, the castle will be both your battleground and graveyard!" The Vampire King laughed maniacally as bats flew around the castle.

* * *

Elsewhere in a large cathedral, Julius Belmont, a young man with brown shoulder length hair tied in a ponytail and blue eyes wearing a brown trench coat over a leather vest and a red dress shirt was conversing with Jonathan Morris, an elderly man faded blonde hair, blue eyes and a goatee and moustache, dressed in a red trench coat over a black button up shirt, both Vampire Hunters knew that Dracula's Castle had risen and were planning their next course of action.

"Julius, this is the day you've trained all your life for, are you ready?" Jonathan walked over to table in the middle of the room and opened the stone chest on top to reveal a brown leather whip that emanated a strong holy aura. "This Vampire Killer Whip is the symbol of your clan's power, and it is your destiny to use this weapon to destroy Dracula, once and for all."

"I understand. I will fulfil my destiny as a Belmont." Julius took the Vampire Killer from its stone case, eager to prove himself worthy of his bloodline; the Vampire Hunter was ready to face the evil Lord Dracula.

"There is one more thing." Jonathan cleared his throat, preparing to tell Julius the additional details about his assignment, the former Vampire Hunter wasn't sure how the Belmont Heir would react the his added task. "You must summon a servant for the Third Holy Grail War."

"Huh?" Julius was confused, he waited all his life to slay Dracula, and now he was being side-tracked by something he deemed irrelevant, the Vampire Hunter wondered why Jonathan requested such a task. "You want me to do the Mages Association's dirty work?"

"No, I want you to win this war and wish for Dracula's ultimate destruction." Jonathan shook his head; the former Vampire Hunter was disappointed at Julius's lack of understanding for his new plan. "This war is different from the previous two… the master that strikes down Dracula will be granted one wish… however, if he destroys the other masters, his wish will be granted."

"My ancestors defeated Dracula in the past… you defeated him as well, so why do we have to depend on some relic?" Julius brought up the age old struggle of the Belmont Clan as well as Jonathan's own battle during the events of 1944; the Vampire Hunter didn't like having to rely on the Holy Grail when his ancestors defeated the Dark Lord through their own power.

"And each time, Dracula has always resurrected himself, this time; we can end his cycle of resurrection!" Jonathan wanted more than anything to destroy the Dark Lord once and for all, his own struggle and the death of his father, John Morris further motivated the former Vampire Hunter.

"Fine, but that doesn't mean I have to like this!" Julius resigned himself to his fate as a master in the Holy Grail War, though he disliked his current situation, the Vampire Hunter knew that it was necessary to end Dracula's reign permanently.

"I'm glad you see things my way." Jonathan smiled, relieved that Julius agreed to become a master, despite his initial reluctance. "Once you reach the Castle, you will meet your two teammates, the first one is Alucard, the Belmont Clan's oldest ally and the second one is Ciel, an immortal human that works directly under the churches Burial Agency, if you have any objections, you can take them up with Narbareck herself…"

"N-no, I think I'm good." Julius shuddered at the thought of meeting Narbareck, the infamous leader of the Burial Agency who is known for her bloodthirsty tendencies, the Vampire Hunter never understood why someone like that gained such a high position in the Church of all places.

* * *

After concluding their conversation, Jonathan opened the door to the lower levels of the cathedral, after a certain point, the former Vampire Hunter returned to the upper levels so that the Belmont Heir could perform the summoning ritual in private, as the Vampire Hunter entered the ritual room, there he saw a metal breastplate with regal blue markings on it and a scroll right beside it and both the floor and the ceiling had magic seals carved onto them.

"From Charlotte Aulin…" Julius read from the scroll that was left for him, in it, the Vampire Hunter saw a detailed description on the Servant Summoning ritual. "Alright, I'll give this a shot." The Belmont Heir recited the spell written on the parchment. "Oh, valiant hero lost to the sands of time, let my voice act as a beacon, let my blood and your relic bind you to this world… I summon a servant from the memories of my blood." The young saviour took out one of his silver knives and cut his palm, spilling on blood on the piece of armour. "Come forth, my servant!"

As Julius finished reciting the spell, the seals started to glow a bright blue and his blood glowed over the breastplate, as the light intensified the figure of a blonde woman with green eyes in a regal blue and gold dress, clad in silver armour, appeared in front of the Vampire Hunter, as the Belmont Heir saw the regal girl, the command seals burned themselves on his hand.

"Greetings, Master, I am a Saber Class Servant." The blonde stared at Julius, wanting to know the identity of her summoner.

"Saber… my name is Julius Belmont." The Vampire Hunter declared proudly, hoping that he could match the sheer splendour that Saber radiated with her presence. "I am the current wielder of the Vampire Killer Whip."

"Sir Leon's descendant…" Saber stared at Julius, thinking it was fate that a member of one of her knights and best friend's bloodline would summon her.

"That I am… we will win the grail and destroy Dracula once and for all." Julius sensed Saber's strength, now more than ever, the Vampire Hunter was confident of his chances against Dracula, but having to rely on his servant's powers still didn't sit well with him. "Finally… the Dark Lord will be vanquished forever!"

"Dracula…? Dark Lord?" Saber was confused, Julius's words seemed very alien to her, the blonde servant tried to find out who this new Prince of Darkness was. "In my time, the Dark Lord was Walter Bernhard. Was he replaced?"

"We'll discuss Dracula's history later, for now; I must ask Father Jonathan about the specifics of the Holy Grail War." Julius excused himself from the room, followed by Saber, both warriors determined to win the war.

"Dracula… is he as terrible as Walter was?" Saber couldn't get the Dark Lord's name out of her mind, but what the blonde servant didn't know was that the Vampire King's true identity would drive her to the depths of despair. "Mathias…" the regal girl's train of thought shifted to her lost love, who she long thought to have been killed by the reigning Prince of Darkness. "Did Dracula kill him?"

* * *

Later that night in a dark tomb with a large coffin at the centre and stained glass windows up in the mountains, a deceptively young man with long platinum blonde hair and golden eyes, wearing black Victorian era suit with a gold trim and a matching cape, was performing the same summoning ritual that Julius had done earlier, the ethereal youth spilt his blood and formed a magic seal on the ground.

"In the name of Alucard, I summon thee, oh, noble spirit." The dhampir took out a crooked red sword that resembled an ancient hardened flame and stuck it into the centre of the seal. "Heed the call of my voice; lend me thy powers so that I may banish evil!"

As Alucard completed the summoning spell, an ominous red glow emanated from his blood seal and the command seals burned themselves onto his hand, as the light cleared, an explosion of what looked like glowing petals engulfed the magic circle and a young woman with blonde hair, green eyes dressed in an elegant red and white dress with a long skirt that was almost transparent.

"You must by my master, how unfortunate… I dislike the Rider class, yet fate is cruel enough to turn me into one." The woman in red voiced her displeasure at her designated class, making dramatic movements to emphasize her feelings. "Indeed, what poor casting!"

"Rider…" Alucard stared at his servant, not really knowing what to make of her melodramatic nature, though he did not show it, the dhampir was relieved that his summoned being was a powerful one, but one thing bothered the ethereal youth, the blonde before him bore a striking resemblance to his mother, Joan.

"By the gods…" Rider took a closer look at Alucard, his inhumanly beautiful face illuminated by the stained moonlight that shone through the windows captivated the servant in red, the dhampir's striking and ethereal beauty struck a chord in the dramatic girl's heart as her cheeks reddened. "So flawless… so beautiful… you are indeed my destined master!"

"Hmmm…?" Alucard was baffled by Rider's choice of words; the sheer passion in the servant in red's voice was enough to make even a seasoned warrior like himself very uncomfortable. "My name is Alucard… and yes, I am your master."

"Being blessed with a beautiful muse, indeed, this must be cupid's work, the author of my existence writing the other half of my love story!" Rider stared intently and lovingly at Alucard, a thespian at heart, the servant in red believed in love at first sight as long as beauty was involved. "Alucard, always remember this, you are mine and mine alone!"

Alucard sighed, although Rider was powerful, not even an hour passed and the dhampir found his servant's attitude very hard to deal with, any thoughts he had about the blonde thespian's resemblance to his mother now made irrelevant by her haughty attitude.

* * *

A few miles outside Dracula's Castle, a lone vampire woman with blonde hair and red eyes dressed in a white top along with a black skirt and stockings stared at the evil fortress.

"Mathias… no, Dracula, I've found you." The blonde vampire smirked, as if she had found the prey she had been stalking for quite some time, the mysterious woman was now eager to meet the Dark Lord. "Did you think you could avoid me forever? Me? Arcueid Brunestud, your fiancé?" The True Ancestor frowned at the thought of the Vampire King's sudden disappearance and his unwillingness to honour their engagement. "I'll pay you a visit and teach you a lesson on commitment."

* * *

Author's Note: Done with the first chapter 1999 Arc of the Fate of the Dragon Saga! Julius summons Saber and Alucard summons Rider, who overreacts heavily to his looks, I made Nero Rider due to her comments about being a capable charioteer but hating the Rider class, and there will be nothing romantic between Julius and Saber, just respect between two warriors. Saber's reunion with Mathias will be very painful for both of them. Elizabeth Bathory/ CCC Lancer makes an appearance and her role overwrites both Carmilla and Elizabeth Bartley's roles and we get some context to her reaction to Soma in Castlevania: Minuet of a Cursed Fate, as the story progresses, more masters and servants will appear and so will more Tsukihime characters, Arcueid's relationship with Dracula will be a major plot point in Castlevania: Night of the Dark Prince. Next chapter, Ciel summons her servant and Julius meets her and Alucard in the castle!


End file.
